At a press conference on Tuesday in Chile’s capital of Santiago, China’s ambassador Niu Qingbao lambasted the United States for “interfering in Chile’s sovereign right to independently choose its partners” and spreading “disinformation about the project”.
The astronomy project stems from a 2023 agreement between China’s National Astronomical Observatory and Chile’s Catholic University of the North to work on a powerful space observatory in the country’s vast northern Atacama Desert.
The proposed high-resolution telescope would be able to observe near-Earth objects, which are classified as asteroids or comets.
But Washington has expressed concern over China’s clout on its doorstep, as Beijing builds infrastructure, boosts investment in agriculture, energy, mining and other sectors across Latin America and displaces the United States as the region’s biggest trading partner.
During his Senate confirmation hearing this month, Brandon Judd, Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Chile, said he would seek to persuade Chile that “we are the better trade partner.”
He added: “We will continue to strengthen our ties to Chile and limit China’s access to all of the resources that Chile might have available.”
As US concern grew, the Chilean government announced it was suspending the project for review.
Niu dismissed fears on Tuesday, saying, “China has no interest in geopolitics.”
He accused the United States of provoking tensions by “defaming Chinese projects by invoking geopolitical arguments.”
He claimed the proposed observatory was “of the same nature” as the many other telescopes in northern Chile, including an American-funded telescope known as the Rubin Observatory coming into operation this year.
“We are closely monitoring the developments of the incident and hope that the Chilean side can eliminate US interference and approve the implementation of the project as soon as possible,” Niu said.
The United States, the European Union, Australia and a range of other countries operate observatories in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
The region’s geography – bone-dry and high-altitude, with steady air and the cloud-blocking Andes Mountains to the east – produces exceptionally clear conditions that have made it a major hub for global astronomy. (AP)
